


CaptainWhoGotTheCanary Oneshots

by crazygirlne



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: 13 Going on 30 AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Developing Relationship, Dogs, Established Relationship, F/M, Fic Collection, Proposals, Relationship Discussions, prompt fills
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2018-09-22 17:16:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 19,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9617495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crazygirlne/pseuds/crazygirlne
Summary: A collection of prompt fills, ficlets, etc that don't fit into my verses or drabble collection and aren't long enough to justify their own stories.Mostly Captain Canary. If any stories are eventually adult, they'll be clearly marked, and the overall rating will be changed.





	1. Second Kiss

**Author's Note:**

> For FiccingCaptainCanary "What are we to each other?"

"What are we to each other?" he asks as soon as they’re alone.

“What?” Sara says, turning to look at Leonard. He merely lifts an eyebrow, knowing she heard him. “How am I supposed to answer that?”

How Leonard ended up back on the team, alive, was too complicated to sort through at the moment, but at his continued look, she works through their relationship, as it were, from when they met to “me and you” to that kiss. She remembers the times since, when they’ve been partners, had each other’s back, but always, always with that undercurrent of want,  _ need _ .

“We’re… us,” she says finally.

“I know labels don’t always matter,” he says, taking a step closer. “Just cause Rip calls a plan 'good' doesn't mean it has a chance in hell of working out how he pictures.” Another step, and then she’s looking up at him. Her eyes flicker to his lips for the briefest second, but he catches it, and he smirks before he continues. “But sometimes, labels can make a difference. For instance, if we’re partners, I shouldn’t ask whether you’d like to go out on a date.” 

Despite the irreverence in the final word, Leonard’s expression is serious, and it’s his turn to let his eyes drop. Sara can almost feel him watching her mouth, and she swallows before licking her lips. 

“If we’re teammates,” he continues, “I shouldn’t be thinking about how much I’d like to try that kiss again.” He shuffles even closer, their bodies almost touching, and reaches out to wrap his fingers loosely around her wrists. Sara closes her eyes for a moment when he runs his thumbs across the sensitive skin. She opens them to see his eyes burning into hers. Her breath is ragged, and she wants to say something, anything, but all she can do is stand there.

“But if we’re lovers,” he says, almost caressing the term, letting go of one arm so he can tuck a strand of hair behind her ear before sliding his hand back to cup behind her head, “then we can do this.”

He leans toward her, and it finally breaks whatever spell she’s under. She meets him halfway, and his lips are softer than she remembers, somehow both more pliant and more responsive, almost possessive as they taste, suck, tease. Her hands have found their way under his jacket, and her fingers dig into his shirt, pulling him closer as the kiss deepens and she memorizes his taste. After a few minutes–seconds, hours, days–they slow, finally pulling apart.

“Yeah,” Sara says, happy she only sounds a little out of breath, “I vote we be whatever lets us do that.”

Leonard smirks again. “Good choice,” he says, leaning forward again, and for the rest of the night, they proceed to show each other exactly how well the term “lover” applies.


	2. Pile of Fluff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara and Leonard walk their dog in the snow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt from breakthestrutura

“I know he needs to go for a walk,” Sara says, gesturing at the sheepdog waiting patiently at Leonard's feet. “I just don't understand why I have to go with you.”

Leonard quirks an eyebrow at her. “What's wrong, Sara?” he says, caressing her name in that way he knows does things to her. “Afraid of a little cold?” His voice is downright suggestive by the end, and she rolls her eyes. 

“I don't object to the  _ cold _ ,” she says, watching Leonard hook the leash to Dodger’s collar. “It's the snow I have trouble with.” Leonard and Dodger look at her with identically expectant expressions, and Sara sighs. “I go with you two every night. What's wrong with missing one night?”

“You go with us every night,” Leonard responds. “Are you really going to let some snow deprive us of your company?” He smirks as he sees her cave. “Come on, Sara. It'll be fun.”

“Fine,” she says, grabbing her warmest jacket and ignoring Leonard's grin. “But this doesn't mean I'm going to enjoy it.”

As soon as they get out on the street, she knows she was wrong. The moon is full, and the snowflakes are bigger than she's ever seen them, catching the light as they drift gently toward the ground. Few people are out, and it feels almost like the three of them have the city to themselves. 

“Oh,” she breathes, and she takes hold of Leonard’s arm as they start walking toward the park. 

“Thought you weren't going to enjoy it,” Leonard says with the perfect amount of innocence. 

“Shut up,” she retorts. 

Dodger trots happily ahead of them, and they fall into a comfortable silence. 

“We've had him for a year today,” Leonard murmurs as they reach the park. 

Sara nods as she realizes he's right. They ended up at a shelter the year before, on their first real break from the Waverider. There was an influx of pets after the holidays, so when she and Leonard immediately fell for the large pile of fluff, the shelter employees didn't look too hard at addresses and references. 

“It's been a good year,” she says. 

“It has,” Leonard agrees. They sit on an empty bench and let Dodger off the leash, watching as he enjoys the only off-leash dog park in the area. Sara leans against Leonard, and he wraps an arm around her shoulder.

“You think next year’s gonna be as good?”

He looks down at her, his eyes reflecting the lamplight, snow landing softly on him. “I think it’ll be even better.”

***

As he speaks, he slips a hand into his pocket to finger the small box he’s stashed there. He doesn’t want to ask tonight, doesn’t want to overshadow the beauty of it, but if all goes well, by this time next year, they could both be wearing rings.

Dodger bounds up to them a few minutes later, ready to leave, and Leonard stands, tugging Sara up with him.

“Let’s go home.”


	3. Going on 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Canon divergent 13 Going on 30 AU; Sara is 18 and wishes she could be an actual adult, past all the drama. She gets her wish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anon prompt for a 13 Going on 30 AU. I upped Sara’s initial age because I wasn’t comfortable working with a 13 yr old. Also, I wove it into canon, which means s1, which means Destiny fix-it because I’m not ending it on the horrible note it would require otherwise. Set vaguely in late s1.
> 
> I had a lot of fun writing it! Also, lots of thanks to Tavyn for the feedback!

_It shouldn't be like this_.

Sara’s never wished for anything harder in her life. She sits on the floor, wrapping her arms around her knees, but it does no good.

She's still making bad choices, still competing with her sister over the same guy, who isn't good enough for either of them.

 _It shouldn't be like this_.

She bangs her head back against the shelves, ignoring it when some sort of glitter falls on her face. She closes her eyes and wishes she was past all this, past the drama of being a teenager, an adult only by technicality.

***

Sara wakes from sleep, stretching, and freezes when she realizes she's no longer in the dark closet.

She's in an unfamiliar bed, and she opens her eyes to gray metal that reminds her of one of those old war ships people take field trips to, but she can't feel any movement.

She didn't have enough to drink yesterday to black out. How did she get here?

She starts to roll over, stilling again when she comes into contact with a warm body.

She isn't alone in this bed. She pulls away instinctively, putting the wall to her back and struggling to remember her self-defense skills, because in what universe is blacking out and waking up with a stranger good?

It wakes the man, who takes one look at her and rolls over, putting his back to her and producing a huge gun that he aims around the room, lowering it when he doesn't see a threat.

“Sara?” he asks, and she blinks before studying him.

She's never met this man in her life, and she's sure she would remember him. He's older than she is, much older, but there's something about him that draws her in. Maybe it's the eyes. He's dressed in a t-shirt and sleep pants, and she looks down to see she is, as well.

“What's wrong?” he asks.

“Who are you?” she returns.

He watches her before putting away the gun. He turns to her, those eyes gazing into hers. It's like he can see right into her, and she shivers. He catches the movement, looking her over appraisingly.

“You don't look injured. What's the last thing you remember?”

Sara frowns. “Last night, there was another big party, and Laurel went with Ollie, and I found somewhere to hide.”

His eyebrows draw together in concern or confusion, she isn't sure, but she feels like she could relax around him if she knew what was going on.

“Your sister still parties with Oliver?”

“Well, yeah,” Sara says. “I mean, they aren’t dating yet, but everyone knows it’s coming. They’ve been like… almost together since high school. I know it’s been a couple years, and I thought maybe I had a shot since I’m an _adult_ now, but...”

“How old do you think you are?” he asks when she trails off, and it’s Sara’s first clue that she might be missing more than a night.

“Eighteen,” she says cautiously, watching as he frowns.

“Gideon,” he calls without taking his eyes off her.

“Yes, Mr. Snart?” The feminine voice sounds like it’s coming from all around them, and Sara can feel the man–Mr. Snart, apparently–measuring her reaction.

“Do you have any idea why Sara thinks she’s eighteen?”

“No, Mr. Snart. I still show Miss Lance as twenty-eight by her original timeline, or thirty including the two years she was marooned in the ‘50s.”

What the hell? At this, Sara does finally let herself relax. It doesn’t matter how real this feels; there’s no way this is anything but a dream, one that makes even less sense than some.

“You’re telling me I’m going on thirty?” she asks.

“Yes, Miss Lance.”

“You don’t remember anything after eighteen?” Snart asks, and Sara shakes her head.

“Nope. Can’t be all bad if I’m sleeping with you, though.” She grins, and he raises an eyebrow. Guess dream Sara doesn’t flirt with him that way. Pity.

“Gideon,” he says, almost a plea this time.

“Miss Lance, you share a bed with Mr. Snart, on occasion, but you have not, I believe, ‘slept’ with him in the colloquial use of the term.”

Even more of a pity. The man looks exceedingly uncomfortable when Sara looks at him more closely, but he’s also got something very protective in his posture.

“If you could please come to the med bay, Miss Lance,” Gideon chimes, “it might help if I ran a full diagnostic scan.”

He stands, clearly waiting for Sara to join him. She pauses.

“What do I call you?” she asks before getting up and standing next to him.

“Leonard,” he says.

***

The scan is completely normal. At least, the results of it are. In the meantime, Sara finds out Gideon’s like a disembodied robot, and she’s on a spaceship. She’s still waiting to wake up, but the longer it takes, the less she believes she’s asleep.

Gideon summons the captain after not finding anything wrong, and he declares they'll stay in the timestream until the matter has resolved. He looks both concerned and exasperated, as if she chose for this to happen but he still cares about the consequences.

Sara likes Leonard better.

“So, Len,” Sara says when they’re alone again. “What’s good to do on this ship?”

They end up finding a quiet spot to play cards, because apparently, all there is to do on the ship is play cards, play with weapons, or talk nerd stuff.

“So tell me about myself,” Sara says after a few hands, feeling a surge of triumph when Leonard smirks.

“What do you want to know?” he drawls, and damn, if this is real and her older self isn’t hitting that? Sara’s gonna need to give her older self a stern talking to.

“Everything you know, I guess,” she answers.

He proceeds to do just that, and Sara’s shocked at how much she’s told him.

She’s more shocked at what her life seems to be, continued bad choices or impossible choices leading her down rabbit hole after rabbit hole. She’s been legally dead and actually dead, and based on what he tells her, she’s not surprised she chose to come aboard the Waverider.

They continue playing while they talk, or while he talks and she listens, and finally, they’re both quiet. She looks up from her hand of cards and looks at him, really looks at him, trying to see him through the filter of her life as he’s told it.

She sees his scars, sees that his protective stance earlier was just as much for him as it was for her. She sees someone strong and capable who clearly admires her abilities.

“Why aren’t we together?” she asks aloud, and he lifts his eyes to hers.

“It’s complicated,” he answers after several seconds.

Sara rolls her eyes. “You just told me my whole life story, and the reason we’re not together is complicated?”

“It involves _feelings_ ,” he says, holding her stare for a second longer before dropping his eyes back to his hand. “I don’t do feelings.”

She’s about to write him off as someone who just can’t commit, ready to forgive her future self for not making a move when he’s clearly just not the type, when he continues.

“But if I did,” he says, “I’d tell you we’ve both had a lot going on. We’re close, but the timing’s been all wrong.”

He plays his hand, and the subject drops.

***

Days pass, and while she gets to know the rest of the crew, Sara still spends most of her time with Leonard. She refuses to sleep in her own bed, and Leonard refuses to do anything more than literally sleep with her. The closest she’s gotten to an answer from him is some muttering about how she’s not herself.

And okay, she’s seen a mirror by now, has seen her own scars, which align with what he’s told her. According to her body, she is _not_ still eighteen. Also, she’s pretty sure dreams can’t last this long.

Leonard drags her in for some sparring one day, and they find out that her muscle memory seems intact; she’s more than a challenge for him. He brings in Kendra, who seems the most sympathetic to her memory issues, and they spar daily.

Sara also gets to play more cards, drink, and just spend time with the crew in general and Leonard in specific, until Rip finally steps in.

“We can’t stay in the timestream any longer,” he says. “Sara, despite your lingering memory problems, you seem quite capable of holding your own, and we have to get back to taking out Savage.”

The team takes turns filling her in on Vandal Savage, more than the bits and pieces she’s heard from Leonard, who’s mostly focused on history as it relates to him and to her.

“We’ve been just sitting here screwing around while all this is going on?” she says when they finish.

Ray, with more sincerity than he needs, is the one to respond. “We needed you with us, Sara. You’re part of the team, and we’re not gonna leave you behind again.”

***

Her first–well, as far as she remembers–mission is a shit show. She doesn’t really get to do anything but listen to that psycho speak, and then she has to watch Leonard flirt with the man’s daughter. And _then_ Kendra’s ex, who isn’t really her ex because of some reincarnation bullshit, comes back, except he’s not really himself but he has the potential to be, and they have both that guy and Savage on board, even though both of them want everyone on the ship dead.

It’s not exactly a relaxing time, and everyone’s on edge.

“This whole thing is stupid,” she tells Leonard over a game of cards. There’s been none of their usual banter, and he looks seriously at her now.

“We’re leaving, me and Mick, soon as we can figure out how to get out of here. Come with us.”

“What?”

“It’s not just stupid,” he says. “There’s something very wrong here. I can feel it.”

“I don’t know…” It isn’t that she doesn’t want to go with him, but she ended up here for a reason, right? She’s hesitant to go back closer to where she came from.

***

She doesn’t end up having to decide. Jax gets sent back in the jump ship, and then it’s too late to find another way off.

***

“...for me. And you. And me and you.”

She would’ve jumped at these words a few days ago, but he pulled a fucking gun on her. That hasn’t happened to her before, and she’s not sure she’d be less angry even if having a gun pointed at her was a normal thing.

“You want to steal a kiss from me, Leonard? You better be one hell of a thief.”

***

It’s too late again. She’s standing there, and he’s about to die, and she knows she’s only eighteen, sort of, but she’s pretty sure she’s in love, or at least capable of it, and she presses her lips to his because it’s all she can do.

***

 _It shouldn’t be like this_.

Between the fight and losing Leonard, Sara hurts everywhere, inside and out. Her chest physically aches, and tears spill down her cheeks, because he’s gone.

If only she could get a do-over. If only she could start again and make sure that somehow, he survives.

Sara’s never wished for anything harder in her life. She swipes at a tear and closes her eyes.

***

Sara wakes up in a dark closet. She stands, flipping the lightswitch, and looking down at smooth arms that are missing all the scars she’s gotten to know. She sniffs, drying her face, holding on to the hope that immediately infuses her.

She can do this. She can save him.

It doesn’t take long to confirm that she really has lived this before, or at least some version of her has, that the things Leonard told her are coming true and that it wasn’t some elaborate and ridiculously long dream.

While she starts out focused only on saving Leonard, after a while, she remembers to live for herself, too. Of course, she can’t deviate too far from the life she had before, or else she’ll never meet him. Still, she handles some things better. Her relationship with Nyssa ends on a better note. She doesn’t hook up with Oliver after the island. She doesn't hurt her parents as much.

Sara feels so much older than almost-30 before she finally meets him, before she’s finally ready to board the Waverider. It’s hard, not telling him exactly what’s coming, but some of her memories have faded, a decade old by now. She does things differently, but most things end up the same, and she thinks maybe the Oculus has something to do with it, forcing time to happen the way it’s supposed to.

When she and Leonard start sharing a bed, she makes sure it isn’t strictly platonic, and she’s old enough to appreciate him even better than she would have as a teen.

By the time they get to the Oculus, she’s told him her past, including her detour as a teenager, and they’re able to bring a little device that basically acts like a permanent lock bolt, keeping the button pressed down so they can make their escape.

They collapse in a sweaty heap later that night, limbs tangled together. They’re almost too close, but she can’t bring herself to let go knowing how today was supposed to end.

“I’m crazy for you,” she says, and he presses his lips to hers.

She can feel it in his kiss; he feels the same.


	4. Tabletop RPG

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A game of Dungeons and Dragons leads to a conversation between Sara and Leonard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Ficcingcaptaincanary's dungeons and dragons prompt. I did my best to ensure no knowledge of the game is needed :)

_ And then, rolling down from the hilltops, the group of daring adventurers hears a distinctive roar. There’s a rustle of wings, then a golden dragon appears, clearly bent on destruction of the small village, for which our adventurers are the only protectors. The dragon— _

“Raymond, you can’t make a gold dragon evil.” Leonard crosses his arms. He hadn’t actually meant to speak any more than he had to, only… “Use a yellow dragon if you want it to be evil.”

“Chromatic and metallic alignment restrictions changed in 4th edition,” Raymond retorts, flipping through his manual to the relevant page. “Besides, I’m the Dungeon Master. I can change whatever rules I want.” He pauses. “Wait, how do you know which dragons were good and which were evil?” His eyes widen. “Leonard, do you actually play D&D?”

“Can you really see me playing Dungeons and Dragons?”

Ray blinks. “Well, yes, now that you mention it.” He leans forward. “You were Dungeon Master, weren’t you?”

Leonard Snart doesn’t blush. The tingling in his cheeks has everything to do with how warm the room is, not the fact that he can feel Sara watching him with a smirk.

“We’re only here, Raymond, because you needed a refresher on this game before infiltrating a ring of nerds.”

Eventually, they get back to the game, and Leonard finds himself getting pulled in. He’s playing a rogue, of course. Sara’s some new equivalent of the assassin prestige class. Stein and Jax are both wizards, the professor with an emphasis on knowledge and the kid with an emphasis on fire spells. Really, Mick’s the only surprise.

He makes an excellent sorcerer. 

By the time the session wraps up, it’s well past midnight according to ship time, and the crew disperses for their individual rooms.

Leonard really shouldn’t be surprised when Sara follows him; they’ve started sharing a bed, mostly for sleeping (there have been a few times it’s devolved into kissing and the like, but they seem to be ignoring those afterward), but usually they get to his room at different times. It makes it more intimate showing up together, and that’s only amplified when she speaks once they’re comfortable under the covers.

“I was watching you tonight. You really enjoyed that.”

There’s an implicit question in her tone, and Leonard rolls to face her.

“There were times, when I was a kid,” he says, “when I’d get a chance to sneak out. Didn’t really want to cause trouble; got enough of that with my father. I stumbled across a group playing Dungeons and Dragons. It was free, it was something to do, and once I grew familiar with the rules, it was an excellent outlet for strategizing things in my own way.”

Sara takes his hand, and he absently laces his fingers through hers before he continues.

“Never told anyone about it. Mick eventually noticed that I was sneaking off once a week, but he assumed it was for sex, and I let him. Dungeon Master didn’t exactly fit with my reputation.”

“And you still like it.” Sara’s watching him carefully.

“Didn’t have a lot of good things in my life growing up. It brings back memories that don’t suck.”

Her lips twitch. “You know, I’m sure Ray would be happy to play with you any time you want.” She grows serious. “Honestly, it seemed like everyone kinda enjoyed themselves. Maybe we could start making it a regular thing.” She gives in to her smile this time. “You could say you’re only doing it ‘cause it pisses Rip off that we’re ignoring him for like 5 hours straight.”

Leonard grins at the thought, then evens out his expression. “You’d really enjoy playing a tabletop roleplaying game for five hours a week?”

She shrugs a shoulder. “I mean, I pretend we’re not really together the rest of the week. It couldn’t be harder than that.” Sara gives him a look that pretty effectively takes his mind off D&D, and he cups a hand behind her neck and brings her lips to his.

They most definitely do not use his bed only for sleeping that night.


	5. Sick Len

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara takes care of sick Len.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt from theassassinscrook

Leonard Snart is cranky.

Not as a permanent state of being, though some who don't know him well might argue otherwise, but because he's sick.

He hates being sick, especially when it's enough to knock him on his ass. Apparently, his better-than-average immune system is nothing against an aggressive future strain of flu.

Gideon isn't really able to help, either, since there's no cure but to let it run its course. The ship is at least able to provide medication to keep the nausea at bay, but it makes him feel exhausted, which makes him even more cranky. All he wants to do is curl up in bed and sleep until everything’s out of his system.

Of course, he's never actually been able to spend the day sleeping, even when he’s sick, so before long, he's staring at the ceiling, trying to ignore the sore throat and watery nose and aching head. When his door opens without a knock, he scowls, ready to complain at Mick, who's supposed to be bunking with the nerd twins until Leonard's no longer contagious.

He stops, right in the middle of opening his mouth to speak, when he sees Sara. She looks him over, just shy of professionally, then grins at him. He searches for the words for another complaint (is it funny that he doesn't have the strength to get out of bed?) when he realizes he's still staring at her with his mouth hanging open.

“What are you doing here?” he croaks.

She lifts a tray in response, one he’d somehow failed to notice she was carrying. “I brought you soup.” Amusement laces her voice, and it’s reflected in her eyes. “Gideon said the only real complications would be if you get dehydrated, and Rip asked for volunteers to make sure you don’t.”

“Good of him.” Leonard tries to speak in his normal drawl, but he barely gets the words out before he starts coughing. Sara comes closer, and he waves her away. “I’m fine,” he says when he can breathe. “Leave me alone before you get sick.”

Sara shakes her head and sets down the tray. “There’s not a cure, but there’s a vaccine. I’m good.”

Leonard closes his eyes. He could’ve avoided this? Why the hell wasn’t everyone given the vaccine beforehand? Alright, so if the mission had gone according to plan, he’d never have been exposed, but it’s not like their plans go off without a hitch all the time.

Or ever.

“Doesn’t mean you should stay here,” he manages.

“Do you want me to leave?” The light tone she’s been using is replaced by a serious one, and he opens his eyes to see her watching him, arms crossed almost self-consciously.

He should want her to leave. He’s no good to anybody sick, and he’s probably just going to fall back to sleep. If he doesn’t, he’ll be a pain in the ass, he knows, which is why he wanted to be alone in the first place. Nobody needs to be around him like this, and he can’t deal with anyone when he feels this way. Still, though, he knows his answer won’t reflect any of this, because it’s different with Sara.

They’ve already seen each other at their worst.

“No,” he says, watching her expression soften, “I don’t want you to leave.”

“Good,” she says, dropping her arms to her side, lightness returning to her voice. “I can make sure you don’t die again.”

It’s been a couple months since he got back to the Waverider (which took a convoluted mess of events he can’t really contemplate when he feels so shitty), but Sara’s the only one who can tease him yet about the fact that he spent a year being dead. He thinks maybe it’s because she went through it herself.

“Sit up so you can have some soup,” she says, raising an eyebrow at him when he doesn’t move immediately. It takes him an embarrassing amount of effort, but he manages to get himself to a (mostly) upright position with minimal assistance, Sara deftly adjusting the pillows so he’s comfortable and supported. She smooths down his blankets, then sets up the tray so it’s over his lap.

Leonard blames the exhaustion for the fact that he can’t quite help but smile at Sara in nurse mode.

Of course, as soon as he tries to take a bite, the smile fades; his hand won’t stop shaking enough for him to get a spoonful to his mouth.

“Here,” Sara says, sitting on the bed next to him and gently taking the spoon.

He glares when she lifts it for him. “I am not a child.” It’s important that she know that, he thinks, though he can’t quite put a finger on why right this second.

“I’m fully aware.” A smile tugs at her lips, and she sets the spoon back in the bowl. “I’ve got an idea. Wait here.” She hops off the bed and leaves the room before he can respond.

“Not like I’m going anywhere,” he mumbles to himself. He closes his eyes, and he’s more asleep than awake when she returns. He blinks at Sara.

She’s carrying a wide straw, and she sticks it in the soup bowl with a grin. “Drink,” she orders. “Then you can sleep.”

He glares again (sickness is no excuse for him to let Sara know how adorable she is right now, bossing him around while smiling like that) and takes a sip, letting the lukewarm broth coat his throat as the flavors explode on his tongue. If he could moan without it hurting, he probably would. This soup definitely didn’t come from a replicator, and there’s something familiar about it.

As if sensing his line of thought, Sara speaks again. “Mick made it.”

“Tell him thanks,” Leonard says, his voice a little more steady for the moment. He drinks as much of the broth as he can, and Sara offers him some water before she takes the tray away. His eyelids are heavy, and he’s sure his scowl lacks any real heat as she helps him lie back down and then climbs into bed next to him, holding a book she’s produced out of nowhere. “What are you doing?”

“I’m reading to you until you fall asleep,” she says, like it’s a completely ordinary thing to do. He’s trying to think of arguments, but before he can focus well enough, she starts reading, her voice soothing, and the tension immediately drains from his body. “Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the Western Spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun…”

He lets his eyes fall shut as he listens to the words of Douglas Adams, sparing only a fleeting thought for whether Sara knows how often he’s read this book. As he slips into sleep, he feels something akin to amazement.

He’ll deny it tomorrow, of course, vehemently if he has to, but in this honest place between awareness and dreaming, he’s able to admit the improbable to himself:

In this moment, despite the sickness, Leonard Snart is content.


	6. CaptainCanary, National City, romance, cards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara and Len accept advice from Kara Danvers for their first date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jael prompted CaptainCanary, National City, romance, cards.
> 
> Supergirl crossover. Minor background Sanvers.

Being one of the good guys is a lot of work.

If he were still a villain, there's no way Leonard would be here now. When the Flash asked for help for another superhero on an entirely different version of Earth, he'd have told him to fuck off.

But he's… He's not a hero, but he's not a villain, and he falls firmly on the “good guy” end of the spectrum. Usually, anyway. Sometimes his thievery is still what qualifies him as _legendary._

So because he's a mostly good guy on a team of other mostly good guys, he's in some partially underground lair (because really, there's no other word for it, government building or not) as the local team and the Waverider crew celebrate their latest victory. He's tuned out, for the most part, but he's never able to tune things out entirely, so when the conversation shifts to date spots Sara just _has_ to try before they return to Earth-1, he makes sure he actually pays attention.

Because a few days ago, Sara had declared that she was sick of the flirting not going anywhere, and she was going to take him on a date, and then, well…

The rest of her declaration isn't really something he wants to think about around a telepath, no matter how much J’onn insisted they do have privacy.

Kara, whose disguise is less effective than his own would be (glasses and a ponytail? really? at least Leonard’s goggles are tinted), is telling Sara all about her favorite restaurant.

“You will _love_ it, I know it!” Kara looks around before addressing her sister excitedly. “Alex! You and Maggie enjoyed the restaurant I told you to try, right?”

Alex blinks and looks up from the files she’s perusing. “Um… Yes. I think we’re going back next month.”

“See?” Kara says, as if that were a ringing endorsement. “It’ll be perfect for a first date.”

Alex smiles softly before looking back down at her files. Maybe it wasn’t that bad an endorsement.

Still… “Don’t I get any say in this?” Leonard drawls. Immediately, he finds several pairs of eyes on him.

“No.” Winn, who seems to be the Cisco Ramon of Supergirl’s team, peers around a monitor. “No, you really don’t.”

Leonard looks at Sara, who’s watching him with an eyebrow raised and a smile playing at her lips.

“What do you think, Snart?” she says. “Want to check out Supergirl’s version of National City?”

***

Leonard can’t remember ever actually agreeing to the location (and refuses to admit how often this sort of thing happens around Sara), but later that evening, they’re settling in at a restaurant that looks like something out of the movies. It’s got low, romantic lighting, strategically placed flowers, and people actually performing on violin, harp, and piano. The place is filled with couples, some disinterested and just going through the motions, but most of them staring adoringly into each other’s eyes.

Finishing his evaluation of the restaurant, Leonard turns to look across the small table at Sara. He can feel that his eyes are wider than usual, and as he meets hers, she sets down her water glass with a laugh.

“It’s a bit much for a first date, right?” she asks.

Relaxing, Leonard nods. “This seems more appropriate for an anniversary or a proposal.”

As if on cue, the restaurant starts buzzing as a man goes down on one knee, breaking into excited applause when the woman accepts. Leonard looks back at Sara, expecting her to roll her eyes or something of the sort, but instead, she’s watching him curiously.

“Is this the sort of place you picture for a proposal?”

Typically, he considers each word before he speaks it, so he’s not sure what’s to blame for the fact that he responds before thinking. “I wouldn’t propose to you here.”

He freezes. Great. They’re on a first date, and he’s as good as admitted he’s considered how a proposal for one Sara Lance might go. Alright, they’ve been all but together since before he died, and he’s been back for almost a year now, so it’s not like this is a traditional sort of first date where the participants don’t know each other yet.

She doesn’t look upset, though. She’s looking at him like she understands.

“Wanna get out of here instead of ordering?” she suggests, and he’s standing almost before she can finish her question.

***

They end up grabbing burgers at a fast food joint and taking them to a spot Leonard noticed earlier in the day, a well-lit park with a fountain in the center of it. They sit far enough away from the water not to have to worry about getting wet, but close enough to appreciate the sound. When they’re finished, he produces a deck of cards, admiring the grin it earns him from Sara.

While she’s considering her hand, he lets himself appreciate the rest of her. She’s in a dress, which is unusual enough in itself. It hugs her torso and slinks down along her legs, with a long slit that lets her move and is the only reason she was able to get comfortable on a park bench. It looks soft, and he’s a little upset with himself that he hasn’t found an excuse to touch her the way she’s been touching him all evening.

It started with a hand smoothing down his dress shirt and jacket. In the restaurant, she took his arm as they walked to the table. She tapped his shoulder to point out the bench they now occupied.

After a few hands of their card game, Leonard much more distracted than usual and Sara winning easily, she hands him back her cards.

“Let’s go look at the water,” she says, almost shy, as if there were a chance in hell he was going to refuse. She slips her hand into his as they approach the fountain, which is lit up, various colors placed strategically to give the appearance of even more movement and depth than is really there. Their hands swing loosely between them, and the back of Leonard’s brushes once, twice against her dress.

The silky material is even softer than it looks.

They stop beside the fountain, and Leonard considers his actions for only a few seconds before turning to Sara and tugging her closer, dropping her hand and placing his on her hips when she faces him. Her hands move to his chest, sliding over his jacket until they link together behind his neck, Leonard fighting a shiver as they caress sensitive skin while settling.

“I don’t have any change on me,” Sara says, her voice just a touch lower than usual, “or I’d make a wish.”

“I don’t have any, either.” His own voice is rough, and he swallows. Her eyes are bright, reflecting the fountain’s light. She’s looking up at him, and he’s looking down, and he’s pretty sure they’ve moved even closer since they stopped. They could almost be dancing. “What would you wish for?”

“If I tell you, it won’t come true.”

His retort about the fact that she’s not actually making the wish is abruptly forgotten when her gaze drops to his lips, everything about the action registering as deliberate.

“Why don’t you show me instead,” he suggests, and he’s barely finished speaking when her lips are on his.

***

The next day, they’re back at the DEO, Sara once again chatting with the other women and Winn while Leonard pretends not to listen.

“How did your date go?” Kara asks excitedly. “How was dinner? It was perfect, right?”

Leonard sneaks a glance at Sara, who’s watching him with a smile on her lips. He feels himself returning the expression without his permission as he remembers their time at the park and the time _after_ the park, back on the Waverider, that he once again refuses to think of anywhere near a telepath.

“Yeah,” Sara answers, not bothering to look back at Kara as she speaks. “It was perfect.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Want to send a prompt? Check [here](http://captainwhogotthecanary.tumblr.com/post/159756527834/prompt-fun) for details)


	7. Captain Canary, Longing, Central City, Ring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leonard longs for a future with Sara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anon prompt, "Captain Canary <3; Longing; Central City; Ring??"
> 
> There's less longing than I'd intended, but it's there!

Leonard looks down at the little box in his hand.

They’d been separated again, as if it weren’t enough that Sara was left behind for two years, that he was _dead_ for… Well, trying to figure out how long he was gone got tricky.

The point is, they’d been separated enough, and they finally got their shit together and got themselves together, and things have been good, and then right after he buys this damned ring, they have to split up for separate missions in completely different cities.

He needs this mission to be over so she can be in his arms again, so he can be in hers. He needs to ask that very specific question that makes him nervous and content in equal measures.

He just needs her.

Instead, he’s in Central City, working with Team Flash, and Sara’s in Star City.

Sure, it makes sense for them to each take the location they’re most familiar with. That doesn’t mean he has to _like_ it. He’s gotten used to working with her, playing with her, blowing off steam with her. 600 miles might be nothing for Teams Arrow and Flash to traverse, but he’s stuck here without the Waverider. Leonard doesn’t even have Mick with him; his partner had been most useful on Sara’s mission. Leonard’s alone.

“Len?”

Or not so alone. His heart skips at Sara’s voice behind him, and he turns, remembering the ring box at the last second, hiding it behind his back and immediately berating himself for the bad choice; Sara’s eyes narrow on the half-hidden arm in an instant.

“Sara.” He lets some of his relief in seeing her show through, hoping to divert her attention long enough that he can slip the box back into his pocket. “What are you doing here?”

“We finished over in Star City,” she answers, dragging her eyes to his face. “Figured I’d come help out here. Cisco and Barry told me where to find you.” She comes closer, and he wants to put his arms around her or kiss her thoroughly or both, especially with that mischievous twinkle in the gaze she’s aiming his way, but he’s still holding the damned box. Sara’s eyes drop back to his arm. “What are you hiding?”

“Would you believe me if I said I wasn’t hiding anything?” he asks.

Sara smirks. “Nope.”

“Would you at least pretend to?” he tries.

She quirks an eyebrow in response. “I’m not that good at pretending.”

Leonard takes a breath. It’s not like he’s finished planning his proposal, anyway, beyond some of what he wants to say. He intended to plan it just as thoroughly as he does a good heist, but sometimes the most important part of a plan is flexibility.

He steps closer. She could look around him easily and see what he’s holding, but she maintains eye contact with him instead.

“We’re good together,” he starts, toying with the box behind his back. “We complement each other, make each other better. We trust each other. It’s more than I thought I’d ever have, but lately, I’ve wanted more.”

He can’t take the hint of worry that flitters through her expression, and he brings the box to rest between them. She looks down at it, then back up at him, her eyes wide. “I want our futures bound together, officially and permanently. I want…” He falters. “I want a family with you, whatever form that comes in. Keeping the team in one piece is already a lot like having kids.”

She chuckles, a startled, happy sound he loves.

Another breath, and he flips the box open, revealing the ring that so reminded him of her when he saw it, all grace and strength with just the right amount of flash. “Marry me?” he finishes simply.

She doesn’t respond aloud, but she does wrap her arms around him, nodding against his cheek. He closes his eyes, memorizing the feel of her, his own awe in this moment.

She said _yes_.

It’s not like he really thought she wouldn’t, but he’s a lot more emotional about the answer than he expected. She seems to be, too, hiding her face against his neck as she tightens her arms around him.

After a little while—a couple minutes, he thinks, but he’s never been quite so unaware of time passing as he is right now—she loosens her grip and chuckles.

“Do I get to actually wear the ring?” she asks. He lets her go, and she pulls back just far enough. He slips the ring out of its box and puts the container away before taking her left hand in his and carefully sliding the ring onto her finger.

She takes a moment to look at the ring before looking back at him wearing one of the biggest smiles he’s ever seen on her, and he can’t quite help a smile in response.

She said yes, and they have an entire future ahead of them, an entire future where they’ll be together.

He can’t wait to get started.


	8. Future, Fluff, Gun, Amaya(/Mick) & Leonard(/Sara)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mixen and Captain Canary with a healthy dose of friendship tossed in all around. Parts of it got more serious than intended, but it’s still fluff and optimistic!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winterandmistletoe asked for "Future/Fluff/Gun Amaya and Len (+Sara+Mick even better)))"

Amaya’s still not always sure what to think about Leonard Snart. The version of him she met briefly was decidedly _not_ someone she wanted to associate with, but Mick insists that the one back on the team for a while now, the one who died to save them, is nothing like who he was back then.

She trusts Mick, which makes it possible to learn to trust Leonard, despite a past including altered timelines that none of them fully remember.

Sara helps, too, if less directly. For the first week Leonard is back, the two of them just watch each other carefully. It reminds Amaya of animals who won’t quite approach each other, simultaneously recognizing potential risks and potential rewards. Then something gives, and Sara and Leonard are inseparable.

Mick won’t tell her exactly what happened, not even when he and Amaya manage to get some time alone in one of their rooms. Not that it’s surprising, really; Mick’s not a big talker. What he does say matters to her, though, whether it’s to the whole team or words reserved only for her, shared while she trails careful fingertips over deep scars.

So she trusts Leonard, she really does, because she trusts Mick’s judgement and Sara’s, and because she sees the wounded looks in Leonard’s eyes when any of the team shows lingering distrust or disbelief. He hides it well, but it’s there. So are the looks of love he turns toward Sara and Mick—different sorts of love, certainly, but both of them powerful.

All of this is on Amaya’s mind when she and Leonard end up by themselves for the first time, or the first time off the Waverider, anyway. She had assumed it would happen on a mission eventually, but instead, they’re on a double date—not that either man will admit that’s what it is, claiming instead it’s some sort of reconnaissance for the festive, future carnival.

Mick and Sara are together on a ride Amaya and Leonard have no interest in, one that spins and flips at speeds Amaya’s just not comfortable with when strapped into the flimsy, metal contraption. It’s awkward, for a few moments; Leonard watches his partner and his lover walk away—Sara shoves Mick playfully as they go—then frowns at the ground.

“You’re good for him, you know,” he says, hardly loud enough for her to hear. He looks up at her and continues. “He’s a better man since he’s known you.”

She keeps her expression neutral while she considers her response. “That doesn’t mean I deserve the credit. He’s made his own choices. People don’t change unless they truly want to.”

Leonard tilts his head toward her in acknowledgment. “Even so. He was having a rough time of things and could’ve changed for better or for worse. You helped tip the odds in the right direction.”

It’s possible, she admits. Likely, even. She watched Mick as he struggled to fall on the side of good, or at least _mostly_ on the side of good—he was there when it really mattered, at least—at the same time as they grew closer. Sometimes he would ask her to explain her stance on something, and then he would just _listen,_ more intently than she thinks anyone has listened to her before.

She’s grown even more confident in her own knowledge and abilities in part because of his faith in her.

Amaya knows Sara and Leonard have helped change each other, as well, but she’s never really known the Leonard who first boarded the Waverider. She can share, however, what she does know.

“You’re good for Sara, too.” Leonard’s quiet, listening, so she continues. “She’s a good captain, but she was lonely. She kept herself apart more than she had to. Since you’ve returned, she’s let much of her guard down. She spends time with you, and with me and Mick, at the very least.”

Leonard breaks eye contact, looking off in the direction the others went. “She’s strong. It’s hard for her to know when she doesn’t have to be.” He meets Amaya’s gaze again, and she feels a thread of understanding growing between them.

The tone is much too serious, though, to suit their surroundings. Amaya takes a moment to look around, taking in the happy sounds, the bright lights, the foods.

The games of skill and luck.

At one of these, there’s a large stuffed bear. It’s dressed oddly; she’s fairly certain its outfit is meant to indicate it’s a ninja, but it’s wearing goggles that remind her of Mick’s.

“Up for a challenge?” she asks Leonard, nodding, and he smirks before following her to the booth, confidence radiating from him. The game looks simple enough; there are guns pointed at targets, and the aim is to shoot a certain amount of water into the moving target in a given amount of time. After watching for a minute—she knows Leonard is watching at least as closely as she is while they wait their turn—she sees that it’s not just the threshold of water that’s important; only the contestant with the highest total gets to choose a prize.

It’s perfect.

It’s their turn as soon as the person in front of them chooses a smaller reward, and Amaya hands over enough cash to cover both their attempts, moving her gun experimentally before the water starts, Leonard doing the same at the gun next to her. There’s a lackluster countdown, and then the water kicks in, jerking her gun immediately to the right.

Amaya watches the stream carefully as she aims it at her target, blocking out the rest of her surroundings and just focusing on the way the water moves. One minute passes, then another, then the water cuts off abruptly. She’s confident she’s won until she glances over at Leonard’s target.

Both of them have surpassed the level of water needed for the largest prizes, but they’re so close to even that she’s not sure, from this distance, which of them won. The game operator has to take a closer look, too, and Amaya and Leonard share impressed glances while waiting for their results.

“Nice job,” Sara says as she and Mick approach. Amaya can’t quite help but grin at Mick before she turns back, expression serious, waiting.

“You’re the winner,” the operator announces finally, turning to point at Amaya. She grins again, triumphant.

“Good job,” Leonard says, sounding pleased despite the loss, and Amaya sees Sara has tucked herself under one of his arms.

“Whatcha win?” Mick asks, resting a hand on Amaya’s shoulder. Amaya points to the awkward-but-cute bear, and the four of them move out of the way after she’s claimed her prize. Mick looks amused until Amaya presses it against his chest. He blinks, then wraps an arm around the bear, keeping it from falling to the ground when she lets go. She leans up and presses a kiss to his cheek, delighting in the way that can still fluster him.

“For you,” she says simply. She can hear Sara, who’s hiding her quiet laughter against Leonard's chest as best she can.

“I bet Gideon can find a better outfit for the thing,” Leonard drawls, drawing Mick’s attention, “but you better not lose the goggles.”

Mick grunts, but Amaya can see the smile he’s trying to hide. “I need a beer,” he says, and the four of them start toward a beer tent, the bear tucked safely under Mick’s arm.

Amaya watches him for a minute, how carefree he seems despite his declaration, then turns her attention to the others. Sara is smiling, almost shining in a way she doesn’t usually. Leonard is almost as relaxed as the other two, a smile playing at his lips, a spark in his eye as he meets Amaya’s look once more.

Amaya might not be sure what to think of Leonard Snart at times, but she decides that, at minimum, he has potential to become a good friend to her. He already is one to Sara and to Mick, and she’s decided that the trust in him seems more than warranted. All of that’s more important to her, she decides, than a past he no longer participated in.

In a future further than she ever expected to see, on a ship with misfits who break the rules as much as they help keep them, Amaya’s found people who are like family to her. It’s everything she never expected, and maybe, _maybe_ it’ll have to end one day, but for now…

It’s also simply everything.


	9. Captain Canary, Star City, Romance/Fluff, Letters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara and Leonard have to find a way to entertain themselves at a formal event in Star City.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt from Flabbergabst!
> 
> Takes place in a version of season one that lasted much longer than it actually did.

“I’m going to shave Raymond’s head in his sleep,” Leonard mutters, glaring at his phone.

“Not if I get to him first,” Sara says, putting her own away in her little clutch with a sigh.

Even the quiet exchange draws glares from the people standing nearest to them, and Sara fights the urge to roll her eyes. They’re at some fancy charity event Laurel’s helped put together, and it’s been speech after speech for half an hour, and according to the program, they’re only about a third of the way through the speakers.

At least Sara has Leonard for company, but they can’t even talk. She intended to text back and forth with him, since they clearly can’t speak aloud and it’s not like they’d be the only ones on their phones (she’s at least polite enough to have made sure they were out of the speaker’s line of sight before even trying it, unlike some other guests), but their phones aren’t working, screens filled with some sort of static. Ray, with Gideon’s help, had made it so their phones worked to an extent while on the Waverider, but apparently, that made them unusable in 2016 Star City.

Sara considers asking whether Leonard has a deck of cards on him (she certainly doesn’t in her form-fitting red dress), but she can’t figure out a way they can be subtle about playing cards, not with Laurel shooting her looks every few minutes to make sure she’s still there. Sara loves her sister, she really does, and if Laurel doesn’t believe it after this, she’s not sure how she’ll ever prove it.

This is almost torture.

Sara leans into Leonard’s side, carefully enough that she can straighten if he pulls away at the public affection (whether he’s comfortable with it depends on the day and who’s around), but he doesn’t hesitate before wrapping an arm around her shoulders. This, at least, is acceptable to the stuffy rich folks around them; she sees a couple of smiles that tell her, as she already knows, she and Leonard make a good pair.

She also sees a curious (but not surprised) look from her sister.

Sara sighs. Okay, she probably should’ve explained everything to Laurel by now, but they didn’t get much time to talk before this event, and communication from the Waverider to a specific point in time was always a bit tricky. It’s not like telling her she and Leonard are together is all that complicated, but Laurel will immediately pick up on how serious they are, and in Laurel’s view of time, Sara’s only been on the Waverider for a couple months.

In Sara’s reality, though, it’s closer to a couple years, and she and Leonard celebrated the anniversary of their first date (if you can call an off-books mission that ended in a kiss a date; they do) a week ago. That particular night, just the two of them? That had been fun.

As she fights another sigh, Leonard reaches into an inside pocket of his jacket. Sara stands straight, curious and hopeful, and raises an eyebrow when he produces a little notebook with a tiny pencil.

He smirks. _Now we can talk,_ he writes in his tidy scribble before handing her the notebook.

_About how boring this is?_ He slips his hand down to her waist when she holds onto the paper, and she can feel his huff of silent laughter. _Why do you even have this?_

Leonard has to let go of her in order to respond. _Always be prepared._

_Are you a boy scout now??_

_Hardly._ Leonard pauses with the pencil over paper. _When you first described this event, I pictured something where people would be taking notes._

It’s Sara’s turn to laugh. She hadn’t explained it very well, she supposes. If he was expecting something closer to a lecture, his confusion about the dress code makes a lot more sense now. _Sorry about that. I’m glad we have it, though._

Another brief hesitation. _I’m glad I have you._

Leonard’s not actively sweet often, but Sara’s come to realize he thinks sweet things often enough, just struggles with sharing them. Snark and sarcasm are much more comfortable for him.

_Same,_ she writes. _Who else would entertain me at something like this?_

Leonard relaxes at her teasing. _You’d have figured something out._

They continue to pass the notepad back and forth, and they’ve gotten through four of the small pages of paper before the last speaker finally takes her place.

_Thank God._ Sara underlines her sentence three times before handing the pad back.

_That means I only have a few more minutes to ask you while you can’t say no, at least out loud._

Sara frowns in confusion, just scribbling a question mark before letting him write again. He angles the paper away so she can’t quite see what he’s writing. He’s sure throughout, not pausing until just before he hands her what he’s written.

_I didn’t want to do this on our anniversary; it seemed too cliche. I’ve known for a while I wanted to do this, though. You’ve helped me become a better man, Sara, and you keep me from going crazy on a ship where everyone but you, me, and Mick are a little too… uptight. I know doing this surrounded by people isn’t really my normal style, but at least I’m not asking out loud._

_Marry me?_

Sara’s hands are shaking slightly by the time she reads the final sentence, and she looks at Leonard, only to see he’s casually holding a simple engagement ring in his hand. The way he holds it, she doubts anyone but her can see, and for a second, all she can think is that it feels like they’re getting away with something, right under everyone’s noses, with nobody else the wiser.

Then she realizes she hasn’t answered. She doesn’t need to think about her response.

_YES_

Leonard takes back the notebook and pencil, tucking them back into his pocket before offering up the ring once more. Sara holds out her left hand, and he slips the ring on her finger, sweeping a thumb over it once it’s in place, and Sara really doesn’t care anymore that they’re in public.

She pulls him toward her, noting that he doesn’t resist as their lips meet. The kiss is chaste, for the most part, but charged, and she loses track of their surroundings until the whole room breaks into applause. For one crazy moment, she thinks it’s for them; then she realizes the speeches are over, and everybody’s clapping, the enthusiasm probably because it’s finally time to eat.

Sara sees Laurel crossing toward them, and her sister’s expression tells her she probably caught just enough of the exchange to figure out what happened, so dinner will probably include some significant, if well-intentioned, grilling. Sara looks back at Leonard, knowing they only have a few more seconds before they’re interrupted.

“I love you,” she breathes, figuring that’s good use of their remaining time.

“Same,” he answers, ducking to kiss her one more time before they have to turn their attention back to what’s going on around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, I’m doing like ten zillion proposals, but they’re just so much fun.


	10. Goldenvibe, Central City, Romance/Humor, Coins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cisco suspects Lisa has stolen something. Lisa doesn't deny it but has fun distracting him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt from Byzinha, who also sent a Snart Sibling prompt I'll probably set in this same little verse.
> 
> It's basically just somewhere in the future, canon divergent somewhere after Family of Rogues.

“Lisa…”

Cisco sounds simultaneously impressed and exasperated, and Lisa schools her expression into an innocent almost-pout before she turns to face him.

“Yes, Cisco?”

“Any chance you know why the collection of rare coins at Central City Museum is missing?” Cisco’s watching her over his monitors.

Lisa’s finally gotten to the point that she’s allowed in S.T.A.R. Labs without people keeping a constant watch over her. The trust started when she agreed to honor the same deal as Lenny, even when she’s working alone. It continued when she admitted she’d known Barry’s identity for ages but never told anyone; it wasn’t that hard to figure out, not when she’d seen all of Flash’s friends around, but Barry Allen never appeared at the same time as the skinny white guy in the red suit. The final point in her favor came in when she helped save Barry, unprompted, when he found himself in a pinch.

After that, the team relaxed around her. She started dating Cisco, and everyone treated her like she was one of them.

But she never even hinted at retiring from thievery. They just assumed, because if she’s one of them, why would she still be a criminal? Like Lenny, though, she appreciates the challenge. Maybe not as often as he does, and she’s not saying she’d have gotten into theft at all if she’d had a different life, but the particular thrill it offers is addictive.

Besides, those coins Cisco’s talking about were awfully pretty.

“Why would I know anything about that?” She bats her eyes at him, something she knows still gets to him. Her boyfriend is ridiculously smitten, and she loves it. Loves him, maybe, too, but she’s not sure she’ll ever say it.

He crosses his arms, donning the expression he wears when he’s trying not to give in to one of her requests. “Maybe because the coins that were put in their place to keep the pressure sensors from going off were covered in a gold-like substance that’s identical to what your gold gun produces.” His arms drop. “How did you control the gun so well, anyway? It shouldn’t be capable of that controlled of an application.”

There’s the admiration again. Lisa can’t tell him that her brother brought in another Rogue to tweak her gun last time he was in town, letting her coat items without obscuring their detail. She smirks instead. “Practice.” She steps around his console, stopping within easy reach, looking at him under her lashes in a move she’s pretty proud of given their respective heights. “There are other things we can practice instead of talking about this,” she says suggestively. “I really want to see if we can kiss longer than last time without getting caught.”

“That is—” Cisco clears his throat when she steps even closer. “That is really not fair.” He leans toward her, then seems to remember what they were talking about, and he takes a step back. “I mean, that is not gonna distract me. That’s what I was saying.”

“Are you sure?” She closes the distance between them again, subtly widening her eyes and relaxing her mouth, watching Cisco’s gaze drop to her lips.

“Oh, Barry’s gonna kill me,” he mutters, too resigned to be a whine, before he closes the distance between them. As their lips press together, Lisa feels a thrill.

Oh, it’ll never replace the thrill of a successful heist, but something about being with this man, this person she actually trusts, who’s even geekier than her big brother…

It could prove just as addictive.


	11. Snart Siblings, Future, Long/Action, Jacket

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Len and Lisa talk while on a mission for STAR Labs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Based in the same verse as the [Goldenvibe ficlet](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9617495/chapters/24032742), but that’s not required for understanding. Discussion of Goldenvibe and Captain Canary, but we only see the Snart siblings.
> 
> Prompt from Byzinha.

“Getting rusty,” Lisa teases after she coats a man in gold, keeping him from shooting her brother. They’re working with Team Flash, and she’s been doing it for long enough that her gun has been adjusted; the coating is breathable at its default setting and merely serves as a way to incapacitate and confine their attackers until the CCPD arrives.

Of course, this mission is a little more off the books, so the guy she’s just covered might be there for a few hours. It’s because of the touchier nature of this _mission_ \- not her word - that they brought Leonard in at all.

Leonard smirks at her and shoots someone over her shoulder, his gun lowered to a similarly non-lethal setting. “Same to you,” he drawls, zipping his jacket so it’s not in the way.

Lisa chuckles, not bothering to respond when Cisco berates them over the comms for their distraction, especially since her boyfriend follows that up immediately by bickering with H.R. about the best use of remote communications devices. She rolls her eyes at Leonard and starts back through the hallway.

It’s not that hard a heist - sorry, _mission_ \- but the guards are nominally competent. Barry’s taking a week off with Iris, and the rest of the team, especially with how hard it was to talk Barry into the vacation in the first place, agreed not to disturb him unless absolutely necessary.

Obviously, the day after he left, they got word of a stolen item that could wreak havoc on Central City if it wasn’t retrieved in a speedy manner, with no Flash in sight. Joe tells them the CCPD won’t be able to get the right warrants fast enough, not with what they have to go on.

Cue the Snart siblings and their thieving - _retrieval_ \- expertise.

“Is the girlfriend slowing you down?” Lisa asks.

“Only if your boyfriend is slowing _you_ down,” he responds. A deliberate pause has Lisa grinning before Leonard even continues. “Wait, it’s Ramon we’re talking about. Of course he’s slowing you down.”

“We can all hear you, you know,” Cisco grumbles.

Lisa glances back at Leonard as they make it to their destination and quickly dispatch the few remaining guards. Leonard’s not really one to wear his emotions openly, but he’s her brother. She can tell he wants to talk about something.

“Cisco?” she says, snagging the glowing _not_ jewel before her brother can and putting it carefully in its protective container. “We’ve got what we need, and we got all the guards on the way in. Be a dear and give Lenny and me some privacy, would you?”

After Cisco offers up a token protest, the line goes silent, and Lisa raises an eyebrow at Leonard, who watches her for a quiet few seconds and then looks away.

“Sara and I are talking about moving to Central City, giving up the Waverider and working with Team Flash instead.”

“Lenny…” Lisa takes a second as they start back down the twisted corridor side by side. “That’s big.”

He shrugs one shoulder halfheartedly, not really disagreeing. “We’re already working for the good guys. Sort of. Some of them are as wholesome as Team Flash, anyway. But this would offer a place to make a home, one that doesn’t move all the time.”

He’s not just talking about the Waverider, she knows. Their childhood home wasn’t safe enough to really feel like home, much too associated with fear and anger. After that, they’d had safe houses, which were safe enough but had to be changed up to keep anyone from finding them.

“You want a home with her,” she says softly. It says all that needs to be said, really. “What about… family?” She’s never pictured her brother as the type to settle down and have kids. Not that he’d be a bad father, but that’s just never been the direction their lives were headed. They both know what it’s like to raise a kid in a family of criminals. If he’s already planning the settling down part, though, it seems worth asking.

Another of those shrugs. “We’ve talked about it.”

Again, despite the lack of actual information, it tells her a lot. They’re quiet for a minute.

“Have you talked to anyone else on Team Flash about joining us?” she asks, and he finally looks at her for a second.

“Talked to Barry. Wasn’t sure he’d want a former criminal and a former assassin on the team.” Something in the particular way Leonard’s voice is strained by the end makes Lisa hide a smile.

“He tried to hug you, didn’t he?” Lisa keeps the glee to a minimum, but she knows Leonard picks up on it.

“Damned near succeeded,” Leonard grumbles, and Lisa laughs.

They’ve reached the exit, and she turns to him, both of them coming to a stop. “It’d be pretty great having you in Central City,” she says, serious, waiting for his nod of recognition before smirking. “You’ll take my place as the naughty one on the team.”

His lips curve up to one side. “Train wreck,” he says fondly.

“Jerk,” she replies, pulling him into a rare hug.

This one, he doesn’t resist.


	12. Captain Canary + Star City + fluff + cards (AKA Ship's Cat)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara adopts a stray kitten, then finds someone else who's currently without a home, someone who shouldn't still exist (but she's so glad he does).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is a multi-purpose ficlet. I set out to write a drabble for @ficcingcaptaincanary, and it ended up also being a (very very late, but they will all get finished) prompt fill, as well as loosely inspired by a drawing by @pintosketches. Set at some vague point in time that I won’t stop hoping will eventually exist.

She doesn't mean to keep him. Sara isn't really a cat person, and the bedraggled kitten who wandered aboard the Waverider is a scrappy little thing, hissing and swiping at anyone who tries to touch him.

Except for Sara. When Sara is nominated to remove the cat (she's got the best chance at avoiding claws, and besides, she's the captain), the tiny creature gives a lonely little meow and then purrs much more loudly than seems possible, pressing itself firmly into Sara's touch. She ignores the snickers from the crew as she starts cooing to it and brings it to the med bay.

Gideon is able to clean up the stray without any trauma, revealing a gorgeous shade of gray under all the dirt. “The stowaway is male, approximately 8 weeks old, a breed known as Russian Blue.” There's a pause as Sara continues petting the happily rumbling feline. “While I don't officially recommend we adopt him, ship’s cats are known to be good luck, and this one seems entirely unbothered by the stresses of time travel.”

Sara still doesn't mean to keep him. She figures at least one of the crew will object and be an annoyance, or maybe someone will be allergic, but everyone seems to find the kitten adorable (when he’s around her, anyway; they give him a wide berth when he's on his own), and Gideon is easily able to counteract the allergens. She's not planning to keep him, though, she's really not.

But then she finds him curled around a deck of cards, the ones she used with Leonard, the ones tucked away in a drawer in her room. She finds him there anytime he sneaks off for a nap, and it results in a name: Ace.

And, well, she's named the cat and he obviously likes her (and her deck of cards), so she can't very well evict him. He becomes something of a mascot, greeting the crew every time they board, saving his affection for the captain. When others board, he treats them with regal disdain as long as they don't try to pet him.

(There's a chorus of helpful _don’t_ s from the crew the first time Felicity reaches for him, but it's too late. Luckily, he rewards her with a warning swat and doesn't draw blood.)

And then they stop in Star City for a break instead of a mission, and her father asks her to work anyway. He's got this person, see, who he arrested. Doesn't come up in the system, but Quentin knows he's seen the guy before, and he found some old paperwork that supports his hunch.

“Guy's name is Leonard Snart,” he explains, and Sara comes to a stop in the hallway leading to the holding cell. Quentin turns to look at her, concern and curiosity on his face. “Heard of him?” When she nods but doesn't elaborate, Quentin starts walking again. “Must be a big deal if you've heard of him on that ship of yours.”

Her throat is too tight to speak, so she just follows. It's been so long, and he's _dead_. It can't really be him, can it? It's an imposter, or a case of mistaken identity, or…

The cell comes into sight, its occupant sprawled out on the bench like he owns the place. Any notion of his being anyone but who he appears to be flies out of Sara’s mind as his eyes meet hers, flashing with recognition and relief before he adopts a casual smirk.

“Sara,” he says, and shit, he says it just like he used to, and she sees her dad glance at her, trying to put together the pieces. Leonard stands, watching her, and Sara crosses her arms, looking him over in as detached a way as she can.

He’s wearing the same thing he was at the Oculus, and he looks good. Healthy and decidedly not dead.

“How are you here?” Sara asks, proud of the fact that her voice remains steady.

“Well,” Leonard drawls, nodding at Quentin without breaking eye contact, “Detective Lance here was kind enough to offer me a place to stay for the night. I thought it would be impolite to refuse.”

Her dad huffs, and Sara turns to look at him. “He tried to rob a bank,” he explains, clearly exasperated. “ _My_ bank. While I was there.”

“Weapon wasn’t even loaded,” Leonard says, voice dripping with mock sincerity. When Sara meets his eyes again, a bit of his armor drops. “I had to get your attention somehow.”

“Why didn’t you go to Team Flash?” she asks. “They know how to get ahold of the Waverider.”

“I didn’t know what they knew,” he says. “Besides, there’s too much baggage there.”

His look reveals that he’s aware of the irony of his statement; there’s not exactly a lack of baggage between him and Sara, not at the moment. She watches him silently for a minute, and he quietly returns her look. With a sigh, Sara breaks eye contact and looks at her father.

“Can you release him?” Sara asks. “He’s one of my crew.” She can almost feel the interest radiating from Leonard at the casual statement. It matches the interest from her father at the entire interaction. For a few seconds, she’s worried Quentin will decline until he’s heard the whole story (maybe even after he’s heard the whole story), and she’s so used to pushing away the memories that she’s not entirely sure she’d manage it.

Instead, tension drains from her when he sighs and reaches for his keys.

Sara and Leonard are silent on the walk back to the Waverider. She needs some answers, both as captain and as herself, but she wants to do it in the privacy of the ship. Everyone else is gone, visiting family or friends. As she and Leonard board, they’re greeted by a dignified mew, the little kitten patiently awaiting her return. Sara bends to pet him automatically, then straightens. Leonard is watching her again.

“New crew member?”

“Captain’s cat,” she explains, which does nothing to diminish his curiosity. “His name is Ace.”

“Hmm.” Leonard crouches, and Sara’s customary warnings catch in her throat as she watches Leonard reach out, fingers curled back, posture non-threatening, stopping an inch or so from making contact. Ace sniffs delicately, then leans into Leonard’s hand. Leonard’s lips twitch as he commences petting and scratching as the kitten demands.

Sara can’t even muster up any surprise. Leonard appears to be back from the dead; why shouldn’t her kitten who hates everybody like him?

Leonard winces as the cat climbs his arm, perching on his shoulders and looking at him as if to ask why he isn’t getting on with it. Leonard chuckles softly (and no, Sara isn’t going to pay attention to how appealing that sound is) and stands, careful not to dislodge his passenger, who looks perfectly at ease. Sara shakes her head, giving in to a smile, then leads the way.

Habit, she thinks, is what takes her to the bottom of the storage bay’s stairs. She doesn’t have their cards with her, but they’ve got Ace. When Sara and Leonard sit, facing each other, Ace jumps down, trotting happily back and forth beside their legs before settling down, a little ball of gray fluff providing warmth where he’s curled up against her calf, nestled happily between her and Leonard’s left legs.

Once the kitten is asleep, no longer actively providing a distraction, Sara looks up at Leonard, who’s already watching her.

“You died,” she says, not sure where else to start.

“So did you,” he says easily enough. “Some people are a little too stubborn to stay that way.”

“You know I need more than that, right?”

Leonard’s jaw works before he speaks. “I know. Don’t have much more than that, though. I remember being at the Oculus. I remember that kiss.” How the hell does he get so much heat into what should be a simple gaze? Sara can’t help the phantom sensations of her lips pressed desperately against his. “I remember seeing those Time Bastards realize they were done for. Then I woke up in Star City. When I realized how much time had passed, I figured I should try to track you down. Wasn’t sure who else might be safe.”

“So you went through my dad.” It feels like she should say something else, but what is there?

He nods, still watching her. Long seconds pass. “So, you’re captain now?”

Oh, she could probably explain that. “Rip left. I took over.” Simplified some, sure, but she’s not ready to rehash everything in detail, and Leonard seems to accept that.

“And the cat?”

Sara smiles fondly at her pet, leaning forward to scratch under Ace’s ear, and she’s rewarded with a loud purr, even though he doesn’t bother opening his eyes. “I didn’t mean to keep him, but he came on board and I didn’t have the heart to tell him to leave.” She swallows, feeling Leonard’s eyes still on her.

“And what about me?” he asks. “Do I need to leave?” She looks at him, and he pulls up his virtual shield, eyes losing some of their intensity as he shrugs. “I’m sure Barry would have me, either as teammate or annoyance. Not sure which I’d prefer.”

“You can stay, too,” she says, and there’s that intensity again, and she looks back down at the cat. He’s much safer to look at. “Ace approves,” she adds, “and he doesn’t approve of anybody. He’d probably never forgive me if I kicked you out.”

They sit in comfortable silence until the crew starts returning, their peace disturbed by exclamations of surprise.

It’s a toss-up whether they’re more surprised at Leonard’s return or at Ace’s adoration of him.

Only Mick stays silent, staring hard at Leonard before pulling him into a tight hug, which Leonard returns. Ace objects, hissing at Rory, and Sara uses her amusement at the feisty little animal to ignore the stinging in her eyes.

Things on the ship settle into a new normal. Sara and Leonard go back to how they were before the Oculus, challenging and supporting each other, depending on what’s needed at the time. They don’t address the kiss, but the heat that’s always been between them remains.

Ace goes from “the captain’s cat” to “the captains’ cat” after Ray points out that he follows Captain Lance and Captain Cold everywhere he can. The kitten alternates nights, looking put out when they separate to retire to individual quarters, then stalking behind whomever belongs to him that night. Sara assumes that he curls up on top of Leonard’s feet every other night, just like he does hers.

And then a mission goes south, almost irrevocably so, and she barely makes it to the privacy of her quarters before she crashes her lips to Leonard’s. It’s desperate, just like the first time, full of the same need to convey what she can’t with words.

Unlike the first time, Leonard’s hands are free, and he isn’t about to die. He responds instantly, pulling her close, deepening the kiss and backing them toward her bed.

Ace is pretty damned satisfied that night, but not as satisfied as Sara.

Anyway, Sara doesn’t _mean_ to keep him, not in her life or on her ship or in her bed, but she keeps him anyway. And as they fall asleep each night, Ace purring happily atop their intertwined legs (because Captain Cold, it turns out, is a cuddler once he lets his walls down), she thinks that adopting a stray is probably the best thing she’s ever done.


	13. Captain Canary, Future, Fluff, Letters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sara and Leonard watch a Hallmark-type Christmas movie together. Sara's not happy with the movie, but they both like what comes after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This jumped into my head after I watched a Netflix movie (enjoyable enough, but I think Sara would’ve hated it), and I realized my idea worked for one of my few remaining prompts from APRIL. Fill for agentmarymargaretskitz.
> 
> Set some time in the future when everything’s fixed.

“Gideon, turn off the TV.” Sara glares at the screen, even after it’s gone blank, and Leonard can practically feel her consternation growing. When she turns to look at him, he arches an eyebrow. “What the hell did we just watch?” she demands.

“A feel-good Christmas movie.” Leonard keeps both expression and tone dry. “You said they remind you of Laurel.”

“Yeah, but—” Sara gestures at the TV. “What even _was_ that? I ignored how bad they were at archery, because I _expect_ movies aimed at women to get that sort of thing wrong. And then the whole thing with the wolf: who in their right mind thinks you should sit on the ground and call for help when there’s a wolf? _Who thinks that, Len?_ ” He opens his mouth to respond, but Sara continues. “I can almost get past the fact that an entire country’s laws were rewritten by letters and poems from a dead dude. But then the happy ending is them getting engaged when they don’t even know each other. She’s going to leave the entire continent behind and marry a guy she was lying to the whole time they were… They weren’t even together!”

“So I can’t tell,” Leonard drawls, “did you like the movie?”

Sara huffs and turns toward him. “I think I would’ve been fine with it if it hadn’t ended that way. Why does a happy ending have to include marriage?”

“It was a movie riddled with clichés, by design,” he responds. “Of course the happy ending had to include marriage. They’ll probably have two children, too, and the father will fall in love with the palace manager. There’s probably a puppy at some point.”

“I just hate the assumption, that’s all.” She searches his eyes as if begging him to understand that she’s serious. “People can live happily ever after without marriage, even if it includes monogamous romance.”

He thinks about his options. He suspects that marriage is included in many people’s ideas of happily ever after, and he’s sure Sara knows that. Asking her whether she herself wants to get married seems like he’s probably missing the point. Leonard tucks a leg back so he can turn to face her, too. Their legs are almost touching on the small couch. “What would you write as the happily ever after?”

Some of the tension leaves her shoulders. “They just don’t have to be married. A good relationship doesn’t have to include a ring. Marriage is fine, not saying I have anything against it, and if it makes the people happy, then they _should_ get married. It’s just the idea that it’s required that sits wrong with me, you know?” She’s calmer now, but no less passionate, and when he nods in acknowledgement, her breathing slows. “I think I’d just end it with a kiss. There’s already the grand romantic gesture just by showing up, and then the audience can fill in whatever they want. The kiss says they’re together, and it’s a holiday romance, so we know everything’s gonna be okay after that.”

Leonard’s eyes flicker to her lips, briefly enough that Sara probably wouldn’t notice if she were anybody else. As it is, she smirks, but she stays quiet, giving him a chance to respond. He questions himself for a moment before he says what’s on his mind.

“So the kiss at the Oculus,” he starts, watching her intently, “was that a happy ending?”

She doesn’t break eye contact. “No. I mean, there was the big gesture and all, if what you did for Mick counts for anyone other than Mick, and then the kiss was…” She pauses. “But then you died, and we didn’t get together when you came back. We’re not in a holiday romance, though, so it doesn’t follow the same rules.” Sara places a hand on his knee, and he glances at the point of contact before looking back at her.

“What if we were?” he asks. “If this was a cheesy holiday movie, what would come next?”

She’s still watching him, with intensity that rivals his own. “Well,” she says, “it’s gotta be heteronormative, right, so I’d leave, hurt, because I didn’t think you wanted me. And then you’d show back up in some dramatic fashion and tell me that you want to be with me. That you’ve _always_ wanted to be with me.”

“At least since you accused me of staring at your ass,” he says, easy, and she smirks again.

“At least since then. And I’d come up with some concern that doesn’t really get in the way, like—“

“Like what if the crew doesn’t listen to you because you’re dating a man?” he suggests, and Sara chuckles.

“Something like that, yeah. And then I’d tell you I’m in love with you, and if we ever get married, it’ll be because we want to, not because we have to.”

Leonard searches her eyes, failing to find any hint of reluctance or uncertainty, and leans forward. Sara does the same, and he pauses with a scant inch between their lips.

“I think you’re forgetting something,” he says, and her eyes drop to his mouth.

“We’d kiss, and then we’ll live happily ever after.” She barely finishes the sentence before she’s pressing her lips to his, it’s a few minutes pass before she comes up for enough air to mutter something about horrible movies leading to unexpected places, and Leonard captures her lips once more.

Personally, Leonard doesn’t think the movie was so bad. After all, it did end with a kiss.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rewrite of a Destiny scene (the one where Len pulls the gun on Sara)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thegreatestoutsider posted, "This may interest absolutely no one, but I just rewatched the Destiny scene where Snart pulls his cold gun on Sara and had an AU idea for a short fic. If Gideon hadn’t called, what would’ve happened?
> 
> I’m mostly curious about what Sara would’ve had to do or say to call Leonard’s bluff. When would he have backed down if there hadn’t been an interruption to deescalate the situation?"
> 
> This is short, at least the bits that aren’t recap (because it felt best to set the scene/inner thoughts from toward the beginning of it, rather than where it diverges), but I enjoyed doing it. If anyone else wants to, I’m sure we’d love to see more takes on it!

“This isn’t Bonnie & Clyde, and I’m not going anywhere without the rest of the team.” Sara Lance looks at him intently, her gaze too steely to be _asking_ him to go along with what amounts to a suicide mission.

Survival is what Leonard Snart does, what he’s always had to do. He doesn’t think about his next step as clearly as he likes to, but sometimes, in order to live, he has to think fast, and he’s threatened plenty of other people he cares about before.

“Maybe I didn’t make myself clear,” he says, raising the cold gun and pointing it squarely at Sara.

She takes a step back, eyes flashing disbelief and then frustration, but not fear. It makes it better and worse somehow, that she’s not afraid of him, even now.

“Don’t do that,” Sara says, still watching him intently. “Don’t act like you’re that same cold-hearted bastard that I first met. I remember Russia, and you were the one who told me not to kill Stein.” The steel from her gaze has moved to her voice. She’s confident and angry, but now her eyes are damp and pleading, triggering admiration and the desire to protect in one.

He’s not used to protecting anyone but Lisa, not really, not in any way that matters. Not in any way he can’t find profit in, at least. Sara Lance makes it hard to remember who he is, hard to remember what he needs to do to survive. He tightens his grip on his weapon.

“Yeah, because you seem to have a problem with being a killer. I, however, don’t.”

She should back away, back down. He means it, he thinks, and he refuses to look too closely at the churning of repulsion and reluctance in his gut. He’s not ever been one to kill just for the carnage, but neither does he have a problem killing people who’ve earned it, and right now, Sara is asking for it, standing between him and getting out of here alive.

Isn’t she?

She takes a step toward him, closer to his gun, and he resists the impulsive urge to draw back. “Prove it.” She stops, close enough that she could grab the weapon. Her jaw is tight, mouth set. “Shoot me.”

There’s still no fear in her eyes. He’s not sure whether she doesn’t believe he’ll do it or she’s just that unafraid of death. He doesn’t want to shoot her, but he needs to get out of here, one way or another.

“I’ll do it,” he tells her, and she takes another deliberate step forward. His finger twitches, but he can’t do it, despite his words.

“Go ahead,” she says evenly, without breaking eye contact.

“Just get us out of here, Sara,” he orders instead, or tries to; it comes out more like pleading, and he straightens the gun again, not realizing it started to dip. The tip of it comes into contact with her chest.

Maybe saying her name was a mistake; he feels his armor start to crumble.

“I will,” she answers, “after we get the rest of the team.”

There’s always another way out, Leonard’s learned. It’s why he likes to take his time setting up a heist. He makes a plan, but if and when that falls through, he’s ready to fall back on everything else he knows, ready to get out of there, preferably with his loot, definitely with his life. He’s willing to take risks for the right reward, the right thrill, but he always has a backup plan, _his_ backup plan, because he’s the only one he can really trust.

And Sara is asking him to trust her, even in this moment, even like this.

He has two options here, two ways out: he can shoot Sara and leave, or he can go along with and help her plan.

And he can…

He can’t shoot Sara. He’s still a killer, but apparently, somehow, some part of him (or maybe a lot of him) decided that her life is as important as his own, and maybe not just hers. The team needs them, and if he can’t get out of here now, then he’s damned sure going to make sure they do this right, no more delay.

Time for plan B.

He lowers the gun abruptly. Sara doesn’t react to the sudden movement. “Let’s get on with it, then,” he growls. He holds her stare for a few more seconds, until she turns away and starts focusing on what comes next.

Survival is what he’s always done, is what he knows. It’s time for him to try something a little different.


	15. Falling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For FiccingCaptainCanary prompt Falling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written on my phone when I should've been sleeping. I won't be back at a proper computer for another week still. Ignore any typos :-D
> 
> Captain Canary, Atomwave

“This is stupid,” Sara murmurs. “I’m supposed to say whether I focus on the details or on the big picture. You can’t get to the big picture without the details, Len!”

She’s almost yelling by the end, and Leonard chuckles. “Ignore either in a fight and you’re gonna get yourself killed.” He peers over her shoulder. “Why are you taking a personality test, anyway?”

Sara sighs and turns away from the screen. “Ray sent it to me. Said it would be good for helping the team understand each other. They’ve been bickering more than usual.”

“That’s because we’ve been stuck in the time stream making sure we don’t cause a paradox, since apparently, I wasn’t supposed to be traveling with you again yet.”

“I know.” Sara’s expression is unguarded, and he can see her play back through the last few months, seeing her remember finding out that they’ve been experiencing the wrong timeline. “Gideon says just a few more days and we get our own timeline, no paradox and no changes.”

“No me still being dead,” Leonard can’t help adding.

Sara eyes him a bit too shrewdly before she stands. She steps forward and wraps her arms around him, and he exhales before relaxing against her.

“The other timeline has you being dead for years instead of just missing for a week. Everybody on the team agrees that hiding out like this is worth it.” She nuzzles the hollow of his throat. “They’re just gonna have to suck up their boredom for a little longer and act like adults.”

“Does that mean I don’t have to take Raymond’s little test?” Leonard asks coyly, and Sara pulls back far enough to smirk at him.

“Behave,” she says sternly, her eyes shining as she leans up and gives him a quick kiss.

“Make me,” he challenges before relenting at her raised eyebrow. “What if I said I have an idea that will keep Palmer and some of the rest of the team occupied?”

“I’m listening.”

“Mick’s been falling hard for the boy scout for a while now.” Leonard pauses to see whether Sara reacts. She doesn’t, so he nods to himself and continues. “I’m pretty sure his feelings are returned. I say we issue a challenge to the team: the first one to get those two to admit their feelings to each other wins a prize.” He nods at a trinket that Sara confiscated earlier in the week. 

She’s skeptical. “You think that’s going to help?”

He shrugs a shoulder. “It’s teamwork at best, distraction at worst. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen?”

Gideon chimes in. “Based on that scenario, Mr. Snart, I calculate a 98 point 2 percent chance that the two will be locked into a room, either by a strategic teammate or by their own desire for privacy, within twenty four hours.”

Leonard contains a snicker as he feels Sara huff against him. “Is that a problem, Gideon?”

“No, Mr. Snart.” There’s a deliberate pause. “I merely wonder whether Captain Lance will allow me to compete as well.”

Leonard steps out of Sara’s embrace, fighting a grin. “What do you say, Captain? Should we let the team and the ship play matchmaker?”

There’s a debate on Sara’s face, and he can see when one side wins. “Fine,” she says, resigned and amused in one. “They’ve been falling for each other long enough. It’s a public service, really.”

“That, and Raymond won’t be sending you anymore tests if he’s otherwise occupied,” Leonard adds.

“That too,” Sara agrees. She steps toward him again, giving him another kiss, this one longer. His hands drop to her hips automatically, pulling her close.

“What was that for?” he asks. She doesn’t usually kiss him quite so thoroughly outside of their quarters.

“We took a while to fall, too, but we got there eventually,” she says. She takes a deep breath before he finds any words. “Alright, let’s do this.”

He follows her out, barely managing to wrangle his expression into something normal before they start addressing teammates.

In the end, it takes nearly all of Gideon’s predicted 24 hours before Mick leaves after a talk with the professor, a bit dazed, then finds Ray and drags him in for a kiss that has Jax and Amaya whooping and groaning at once. Mick and Ray are nowhere to be seen the rest of the day, and the team seems in much better spirits after their shared success, even if Stein is declared the technical winner.

Leonard is tangled up with Sara in her bed, later, after some energetic alone time of their own.

“That didn’t take long,” she says, snorting when he raises an eyebrow deliberately. “Not THAT. I meant Ray and Mick.”

Leonard shrugs as nonchalantly as he can. “I might’ve known they were ready for a push.” At her look, he continues. “I may have asked Mick for advice on how to tell you I love you. When he was no help, Ray tried to give his own advice. It was just as bad, but the looks they were exchanging in the meantime… I just knew.” He holds his breath.

It’s knocked from him a moment later when Sara throws herself on him, kissing him like they didn’t spend themselves only minutes earlier.

“Does that mean I did alright?” Leonard can’t help asking, and he feels her smile against his lips.

It might be the best feeling. He’ll have to try it more often.

“You did alright.” She pulls back, a hand on his chest. “Did you really ask them that?”

Leonard’s lips twitch. “I really did. But it helped confirm my hunch they were falling for each other. You should’ve seen the burning looks from Mick, and the adoring ones from Palmer.”

“I’ve seen them,” she says dryly before pausing. “And Leonard? I love you, too.”

He decides maybe he will take Raymond’s asinine personality test, after all, if it in any way helps him pay back the other man for the opening that led to hearing those words from Sara Lance.


	16. April Fool's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Leonard shows up on the bridge, Sara thinks it's a joke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always find it somewhere between funny and problematic when big, important stuff happens on April 1st, because then it’s so much harder to believe it.
> 
> So this happened.
> 
> Somewhere early S2.

 

“You’re kidding me.” Sara crosses her arms, looking around at the team who’s newly under her charge. None of them would have pulled this shit with Rip. Then again, if they’d tried pranking Rip, it probably would’ve been something even worse. “This isn’t funny. I don’t care that we landed on April Fool’s Day.”

Amaya, one of their newest recruits, looks confused and a little frustrated. Nate seems to have a better idea of what’s going on, but he looks a little unsure. Jax and the professor are shifting uncomfortably; they probably didn’t want to be in on this bad joke in the first place. Ray is looking adorably earnest, so no different from usual. Mick—

Okay, the way Mick is looking at this prank tells Sara he couldn’t have been in on it. Mick Rory might be a lot smarter than he pretends, but there’s no way he’s this good an actor, and he looks like his whole world just shifted. 

Which brings her to the final person in the room, whose appearance is impossible and who has to be somebody’s poor idea of a joke.

“Hello to you, too, Sara.” Leonard’s drawl is exactly how she remembers, and his cool blue eyes are fixed on hers.

“Leonard,” she bites out before looking away from the disturbingly accurate image… hologram… copy…  _ whatever, _ and around at her team. “Whose idea was this?”

There’s silence for two long seconds, and then almost everyone on the bridge erupts into chatter at once, including the damned ship herself. It’s a cacophony of overlapping explanations that are difficult to decipher, and through it all, Leonard is watching her, eyebrow raised like he’s wondering what she’s going to do.

About the team or about him, she’s not sure, but he’s clearly waiting for her to do something.

Or the person posing as him is. Whatever.

The renewed confusion pushes her anger far enough that she snaps. “Enough,” she says, breathing into the sudden silence until she feels herself regain her control. “One person at a time.”

The team exchanges looks, clearly trying to figure out who’s going to go first. Surprisingly, it’s Amaya who steps forward, stopping next to Leonard, who shifts his stance so he can watch Amaya while she speaks.

“Jax was doing maintenance,” she says, “and something… shifted. I don’t have a better word for it.”

“Hiccuped,” Jax supplies into her brief pause.

Amaya nods. “Something hiccuped, and then this Leonard was here, and I’ve gathered he’s back from the dead, but nobody’s actually taken the time to tell me anything.” She pauses again, briefly. “I suppose if he’s really returned from the dead, filling me and Nate in wasn’t the highest priority.”

Sara shakes her head. She can’t reconcile what she’s sure is happening with what she’s being told. 

Mick’s gruff voice breaks into her thoughts. “It’s true, Sara.” That he’s using her first name tells her he’s being serious; it’s not that he  _ never _ uses first names, but when he does, it tends to be important. He comes and stands on the other side of Leonard, putting a hand on the man’s shoulder. “He’s really back.”

Leonard is solid. He’s not a hologram or hallucination, not unless he’s a  _ really _ good one. Sara watches as Leonard stiffens for a second at the contact, then visibly forces himself to relax, much as Sara had minutes earlier.

Leonard sounds like himself still when he speaks. “Aww, Mick, don’t get all sentimental on me.” His voice carries the perfect amount of sarcasm to mask his affection, and it’s that more than anything that finally puts a dent in the tidy little April Fool’s joke theory Sara had going. She watches as Mick grunts, almost a laugh, then drops his hand. Leonard looks at his partner, a mischievous twinkle in his eye, then looks back at Sara, growing serious.

“Prove it,” Sara blurts. “Tell me something only you and I know.” There’s another lift of his eyebrows, amused challenge, and it abruptly occurs to Sara that if it really is him, the only things he can answer with really aren’t things she wants shared with the team.

“I gave you my jacket when we almost froze to death,” he starts. That’s not so bad, but it’s also not conclusive, and he knows it. “I almost shot you at the Vanishing Point.” She swallows. He’s keeping it about himself rather than sharing her secrets, and that particular point is… She can’t think of anyone else who knows about that, and even Gideon was offline. He steps closer, much closer, and he looks real and solid and present. “I was supposed to steal a kiss.” His eyes flicker to her lips, and she dimly registers Ray talking excitedly to another crewmate. “You got to it first.”

“Leonard?” she whispers.

“In the flesh,” he answers, voice low and steady.

“How?” Sara can’t look away to get the answers from anyone else.

Leonard shrugs a shoulder. “We’ll figure that out, as long as you believe I’m not a cruel trick.”

“I believe you,” she answers, and she hears the rest of the team emptying out of the bridge to give them a moment, and this is clearly going to be when she wakes up from her dream.

Except she doesn’t, and then Leonard is leaning forward to steal that kiss, and it’s like he never left. Sara isn’t always a fan of this day, but she thinks, as she pulls him closer, she could definitely be okay with a day centered around pranks if it always ends like this.


	17. Stardust AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stardust AU from Sara POV. Captain Canary and Superflash. Sara captains the ship, and Kara and Barry take on Yvaine and Tristan's roles. Probably still cute if you don't know Stardust, but better if you do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm half asleep in a hotel room with only my phone to write on, so of course I finally HAD to write this little story I've had planned for ages. 
> 
> Stardust AU, Captain Canary and Super Flash. Little loose ficlet for now, just a glimpse, the part I had to write, but could expand eventually. 
> 
> Thanks to ClaudiaRain and Tavyn for eyes on!

Captain Sara Lance has been in charge of the Waverider, a ship whose members collect lightning for profit, for long enough that she swears the ship itself is sentient. Maybe that's why she isn't as shocked as she should be when the ship veers slightly off course and finds people stranded, sans transportation, on a cloud.

She isn't shocked, but she  _ is  _ suspicious.

“Tell me again,” she's saying an hour later, nearing ready to admit defeat to the strangers who she's tied to chairs in her cabin; she's reasonably certain neither of them has ever told a single lie in their lives. The girl is gorgeous, blonde hair catching the light in an interesting way, full of fire and spirit. The boy is meek enough at first glance, and Sara doesn't think it's a conscious front, but she can see his strength bubbling just under the surface.

“I'm Barry,” says the boy, not noticing as Sara's second-in-command enters the room behind him, “and this is Kara, and we were trying to go to Wall.”

“We--” Kara tries to interrupt, probably to insist again that Barry was the one trying to go to Wall, not her, and Sara isn't sure whether she wants to crack a smile or toss the pair of them overboard.

Leonard speaks up before she can do either, her first mate’s tone tinged by interest that sends an errant tendril of heat through her. “Wall, you say?” 

So of course Leonard listens as Barry fills them in on his home town. Leonard has always been interested in places just out of reach. It's part of why he joined the Waverider in the first place, back when they were both lowly crewmates under Rip’s command. They run the ship together now, Sara making the calls when they don't agree, Leonard giving his valuable input behind the scenes, often in her bed.

It's bigger than his bed, and he shares quarters with Mick, who is the only crew member who knows about their relationship for certain but wouldn't appreciate their trying to  _ do  _ anything in a shared room. 

Sara blinks and pulls herself back to the conversation when she sees Leonard raise an eyebrow at her. Barry is leaning forward, passionate and invested, and Kara is watching, natural optimism tempered by recent experiences. Sara sighs, not needing to have heard the conversation to know what's being asked of her.

“We can bring them as close to the wall as we can, leave them with about a day’s journey by horse,” she says, and the pair of them light up as one. They're not together, she knows from listening and watching, but they suit each other, despite the sparks.

Leonard smirks, an almost-smile just for Sara, and she returns the look, promising to get even once they're alone. She can at least  _ pretend  _ she wouldn't have helped the strays without his input. It's her prerogative as captain. Leonard unties their new guests and leads them to Sara's closet. She has women's clothes and men's, in multiple sizes, both for pleasure and for disguise, as well as for one-night guests before Leonard, so it doesn't take long before the two are out of their wet clothes and into something a bit more fitting. 

Once Kara and Barry are dressed, they're introduced to the crew, Leonard explaining that they're newlyweds who are paying handsomely for transport after becoming stranded. He told them that saying they were married would protect them both, but Sara is pretty sure he just likes the way Barry blushes scarlet every time he refers to Kara as his wife.

When they're alone, Sara teases Leonard about it.

“I admit nothing,” he says lightly, running his fingers along the slight curve of her hips, “unless you want to admit you'd be interested in Kara if things were different.”

Sara grins, feeling relaxed and unguarded. “I admit nothing.”

The days pass, slowly at first, then faster when she realizes Kara has some training in hand-to-hand combat and Barry is a natural with a sword. In desperate need of polishing, but still a natural.

Naturally, this means the days pass with training on the main deck. The whole crew gathers, contributing amusedly as they're able, but Sara takes point with Kara and Leonard with Barry, each of them putting their specialties to good use. The pair learns quickly, and the night before they reach their destination, spirits are high. Barry laughs in delight at a near-success in disarming Leonard, and Kara beams proudly in his direction.

She beams a little too literally, and Sara is fairly certain she can slot a few clues into an answer about this very special woman. Sara slips away, returning with Jax and Stein, who take up instruments of the musical variety and begin playing. 

Kara and Barry look surprised, and Leonard shoots Sara a look. She just smirks and holds out a hand to Kara. Kara laughs and accepts. Kara knows by now Sara means no harm, and Barry knows the same. He and Leonard watch as the women dance, and Sara uses the opportunity to speak quietly as they move across the deck.

“I know who you are,” Sara says, eyes flickering pointedly toward where the North star is missing from the sky. Kara immediately dims, and Sara shakes her head. “I won't harm you. None of my crew is any danger to you.”

Kara lights up again, just a subtle glow that can almost be written off as imagination, and Sara nods decisively.

“He makes you shine bright, you know,” Sara says, timing it with a spin so Kara can look right at Barry. “And you do the same for him.”

“I can't…” Kara is flustered in a way Sara hasn't seen from the woman often. “We're different.”

Sara shrugs. “Sometimes differences just make things better.”

Kara meets Sara's eyes, gaze suddenly mischievous. “You mean like with you and Leonard?”

“That's enough of that,” Sara says, hiding a grin as she twirls Kara away and into Barry's startled arms. He catches her perfectly, reflexes almost superhumanly quick. “You two take over,” Sara says in a normal voice.

Barry and Kara look at each other, and Kara grows brighter before they even start moving. By the time they break into complicated dance steps, Kara is laughing, and the crew is staring as her light reflects off the faces around them, none brighter than Barry's.

Sara is standing by Leonard's side, and he leans in to whisper. “They're in love.” How he manages a drawl at such a quiet volume is a mystery to Sara.

“They are,” she answers, watching them. “It'll serve them well.”

“She's a star,” Leonard says, “a literal celestial being.”

"And he's royalty,” Sara shoots back, “unless I miss my guess. Nobody else takes to a sword that fast.” She watches as Barry whispers something in Kara's ear. “It makes it even more important, having someone there for you, no matter what, for who you are, not for your title.”

It's dark enough on deck, even with the illumination, that Sara feels safe in taking Leonard’s hand. He squeezes hers immediately, her message received.

The night’s festivities die down eventually, the crew dispersing, Sara and Leonard retreating to her cabin. As she falls asleep in his arms, she wonders what the future holds for all of them.

She suspects it's gonna be pretty bright. 


	18. CCWeek2018 Day 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 1: Pre-Relationship. Takes place early Season 1.

Leonard would like to say that it was the bar fight that caught his attention, but the truth is, he notices Sara Lance almost immediately.

It was something about her reaction to the idea they could all be legends. She looked just as disbelieving as he felt at the idea, sure that it was either a trick or a mistake, or possibly both. It made him, unreasonably, even more frustrated by one Rip Hunter for upsetting her, which is beyond ridiculous. It’s also ridiculous that Sara crosses his mind when he’s weighing his options regarding joining the Waverider.

So, yeah, it isn’t how well Sara kicks ass that catches his attention, as much as he’d feel better claiming that, if he had to talk about it.

Regardless of how it started, though, he finds himself intrigued, and his interest doesn’t fade as quickly as he expects. He hasn’t gotten a chance to _do_ anything about the intrigue, or even decided whether he _should_ do anything, when he sees her alone in her room, the door open like she doesn’t mind company.

Then again, the fact that she’s sharpening her knives on her bed is probably a deterrent to most of the people currently on this ship.

Leonard Snart is not so easily deterred.

He leans against her open door frame, crossing his arms as he studies her. She’s supremely comfortable with her weaponry, which comes as no surprise to him. She looks entirely at ease, body language he’s used to seeing when people are together with friends or intentionally alone in front of the television.

Sara doesn’t bother looking up from her work. “Leonard,” she acknowledges, overly casual.

“Lance,” he responds, matching her easy drawl. He sees her smirk and feels another rush of interest at how she reads him.

“Did you need something?” she asks when he doesn’t continue, her eyes flicking to him for the briefest of moments.

He tilts his head as he watches her. “What’s your take on our illustrious captain?”

Now she looks at him properly, pausing her sharp movements. “ _That’s_ what you want to talk about?”

Leonard pushes off the doorway with a shrug, moving closer to her and finding other things to look at. She’s decorated her room more than he has, but there’s still not much to see.

“Is there something else we should be discussing?” he asks.

Sara huffs. “You tell me. You’re the one in my room.”

He spins to face her, and she’s raising an eyebrow at him, waiting.

“That bar fight,” he starts, hoping she can’t tell he picked a thought at random, “can you always fight like that?”

“I could do that in my sleep.” Her voice seems intentionally light, and her eyes are fixed on his. He feels a tug, an odd desire to get closer to her, and not just physically. It’s disorienting, terrifying, and strangely addictive. “Is that all?” Sara asks the question like it’s a challenge, yet she manages it in almost a purr.

Leonard shrugs again, forcing himself to break eye contact and starting toward the door. “For now,” he answers, pausing at her doorway. He looks over his shoulder at her, and she’s still watching him. “See you around, Canary.”

“See you around, Snart.” There’s a smile playing at her lips, and it again takes effort to extract himself from her gaze. He leaves before he can change his mind, and he hears her chuckle before resuming her task.

Yeah, it isn’t the bar fight that caught his attention, and it isn’t the bar fight that’s keeping it. Part of him thinks he thinks he should probably keep his distance, but he mostly looks forward to finding out exactly what it is about her that makes her so damned intriguing.


	19. CCWeek2018 Day 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introspection and cuddling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 2: Established Relationship. Takes place in an alternate Season 2 where Leonard didn’t die but Sara still became captain. Pretend we got the light, fluffy, fun Legends, but with Len.

Leonard is happy with his life. Not just content, but actually happy, which isn’t something he’s felt often in his challenging life, not in an extended sort of way. 

But he has a “job” where he gets to keep his skills sharp, without being chased by the cops for it (he gets chased by various other unsavory characters instead, to keep things interesting). He has people around who are something in between partners and friends, people he grudgingly admits to trusting, maybe even liking. He has a reasonably comfortable bed and access to all of space and time without leaving his current home.

He won’t admit it aloud, or even to himself except during those particularly honest moments near sleep, but the single biggest reason he’s currently happy is Sara Lance. 

Sara captains the ship firmly but fairly. She treats him mostly the same as she treats the others on her crew, except that he’s more likely to be her partner on two-person excursions than anyone else is. 

Well, and there’s also the fact that he’s in her bed almost every night.

Tonight is one of those nights, and he’s finding himself fighting a particularly strong wave of sentimentality. They’ve worn themselves out, first with the day’s activities and then with more amorous, private activities, and Sara has, unusually, fallen deeply asleep before him. Her face is pillowed on his shoulder, and his arm is wrapped around her. He knows she won’t stay like this long; she prefers not to be tangled together in her sleep, likes to be able to react quickly if something awakens them, which does happen from time to time. He isn’t much of a cuddler, himself, in general.

It’s Sara, though, and she’s warm against him, soft and trusting to extent she isn’t when she’s awake. He closes his eyes for longer than he intends to, opening them again to look at her once more.

She is the reason he’s happy.

It took them just a little bit, after the Oculus. Sara was beyond pissed that Leonard almost died, but then Rip was gone and Sara stepped up as captain and Leonard supported her as best he knew how and…

And then they were together. It’s probably the longest he’s ever been in a relationship, honestly, and they haven’t even talked about it. They don’t  _ need _ to talk about it, because she makes him feel whole in a way he never has before, and she’s more balanced when he’s around, and she makes him laugh, and he makes her grin, and the sex is certainly nothing to complain about. They’re amazingly functional, for all they don’t have an official label for their relationship. 

She probably knows he loves her. He suspects it’s pretty obvious, even though neither of them has said the words.

He lets his eyes drift shut, and Sara shifts, moving closer in her sleep rather than moving away like he expects. He wraps his arm tighter around her, and she makes a contented sound.

As he falls asleep, his last waking thought is that he hopes nothing ever changes.


End file.
